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Monday, June 13, 2011

Leo Howard Kicks His Way into Disney’s New Karate Series “Kickin’ It” – Video

Karate Master Leo Howard

Every now and then Disney gets it right.

The Disney XD channel, known for its predominantly teen oriented programming, launched its latest action series called “Kickin’ It” last night - and it looks like a hit.

Or maybe we should say a “kick”.

The premise of the show revolves around two competing martial arts dojos and their attempt to recruit the hottest karate kid in town played by 14-year-old Leo Howard.

Howard, no stranger to martial arts and action flicks, finds himself in the starring role of “Jack”, the grandson of the Wasabi Warriors Karate franchise founder and master trainer.

Jack not only tries to save the Wasabi Dojo, but also tries to impress the cutest girl in the club. It’s classic teen Disney, and sure to be a hit if they give the series enough time to find an audience.

And Leo Howard’s got the moves.

In the premier episode, Howard performs a number of high performance kicks, flips, punches, and deflections – showing he is no stranger to this type of work.

And for good reason.

Leo is a champion black belt in martial arts, has been doing karate since he was 5-years-old, and is a member of the Sideswipe Performance Team – a high impact martial arts exhibition club in California.

His dad is the famous Todd Howard - also called “The Big Bulldog" who is another master of the martial arts.

Leo was born in Newport Beach California, but today lives near San Diego so he can work on his karate and television productions.

Not only is Leo Howard a Karate Master, but he also knows his way around Hollywood.

Before joining Disney, Leo got his start in a bit part on the popular TV series “Monk” playing a young karate kid.

His first movie role was in the action movie “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” with Sienna Miller, Dennis Quaid and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The film told the story of an elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe that takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.

Leo has also appeared in a few high action television shows like “Children of the Corn”, “Leo Little's Big Show”, and “Zeke and Luther”.

All that practice has paid off, and now Howard is heading to the big big screen as the younger version of Conan, played by Jason Momoa, in “Conan the Barbarian” due in theaters later this year.

Conan tells the tale of Conan the Cimmerian and his adventures across the continent of Hyboria on a quest to avenge the murder of his father and the slaughter of his village.

Watch Conan the Barbarian Movie Trailer

We’re sure with Disney behind his promotion, Leo Howard and his karate skills could go on to be the next Disney teen idol.

After all, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus will be leaving the nest soon and Disney needs to keep the machine running.